I’m on record as saying that “ridicule” is an overrated powerful weapon against Giant Faceless Evil. However, it helps (usually only as a morale booster, but sometimes as more — depending upon your enemy.)
So does attrition, which you can’t speed up (and that’s frustrating.)
The New Yorker has just published a long fascinating piece about Paul Haggis’s defection from Scientology.
My interpretation of the piece and associated material is that Scientology is dying. Just as Eszterhas wasn’t afraid of Ovitz, quite a few people, the New Yorker piece reveals, are not afraid of what Scientologists might do to them.
The famous people associated with the movement, such as Cruise and Travolta (and Greta Van Susteren) are getting old. Simple-minded celebrities will always be with us, sure. But any aspiring actor who considers joining Scientology now faces two hurdles not faced by Cruise and Travolta: (1) Fear of ridicule…
